Laptops can be very hard to use in those on-the-go moments when there is no place to sit down to use them. The Frack Pack that looks like a regular old backpack is a dual-use product, specifically designed to tote around your laptop but then also fold down to use as a portable work station. Those indifferent to nerdiness stigma can swing it around to the front, flip the compartment down and work on their laptop while standing up. In this way it is a bit like the (just barely) successful crowdfunded Trego for iPads that is sleeker and less expensive. After donating at least $259, backers may expect to receive have a place in which to pack their frack in April 2014.
Month: February 2014
The Premise. Smartphones have made photographers of us and it’s a lovely thing. Paradoxically, as photography becomes more a part of us, we’ve become less willing to take pictures with our cameras. Let’s face it, convenience wins for most people in most situations. A DSLR might snap a better shot, but ain’t nobody got time for lugging that thing around.
The Product. Miggo helps make your DSLR or mirrorless camera a bit more convenient while protecting your precious. It’s a camera strap which can be wrapped up around your camera to protect it like a camera case, allowing you to throw it in your day bag rather than carry an additional camera bag. Made of impact-absorbent neoprene foam and Lycra, Miggo comes in a variety of colors and designs. Depending on your preference for a camera around your neck or around your wrist, the product comes in four versions: Strap & Wrap DSLR, Grip & Wrap DSLR, Strap & Wrap Mirrorless and Grip & Wrap Mirrorless. Its smart design even incorporates a pocket to keep track of your lens cap – something that tends to vanish as quickly as socks in the dryer.
The Pitch. Miggo makers, Ohad, Ran, Yuval and Guy were award-winning developers and designers of camera bags when they witnessed the shift in social behavior: people were leaving their cameras—in their bags – at home. A video convinces why Miggo is your camera’s best amigo, and midway through features Ohad, Yuval and Guy who show us many prototypes and tell us they need backers to help fund the initial production to bring Miggo to market this June. Further down the page, they show you how to use a mouse cord to measure your camera in order to see if it’s Miggo compatible. There’s also a gallery of early sketches and prototypes along with project necessities like a 52-year old sewing machine, a pink chair and cookies which presumably kept the project going.
The Perks. For early birds, pledges of $30 secured amigos for 200 cameras – a backer reward which sold out quickly. Today, you may contribute $35 or $40 to net either a Grip & Wrap or Strap & Wrap Miggo of your choice. For a $200 pledge you can custom design your Miggo pattern and have your name heat pressed into any one of the four styles.
The Potential. Miggo dual identity offers a lot of appeal, helping to cut down the bulk that often convinces those who purchase excellent imaging products to forsake them on the go. While ideal for photography enthusiasts, this product may not be as appealing to advanced amateurs who like to bring spare lenses and even batteries along to shoot with. But for the one-lens wonders out there. it could be the colorful cushion that becomes the go-to way to carry and coddle your camera.
Categories
Play Ultimate? Better get a bucket
Ultimate Frisbee is the number 1 “bro” sport, but an Ultimate Frisbee enthusiast has brought the bros a solution to their sporting woes. While the sport isn’t associated with a lot of gear, there isn’t any Ultimate Frisbee-specific tote for the Frisbee-ers to carry their gear around in. In addition, many ultimate ganes are played in open fields with a dearth of suitable seating. This Ultimate Frisbee bro has “designed” the six-gallon Hucket Bucket, with a lid and a strap, to carry your gear and double as seating. It’s a good idea, but at $30, it seems like it might be cheaper to skip the branding just buy a bucket and use an old duffel strap, or something.
Ever notice how so many iPad cases aren’t nearly as functional and cool as the iPad itself? Presenting the DuCase, an iPad case with a hinge providing 270 degrees of rotation so that a perfect angle is possible for every activity. Most iPad cases only provide two or three angling options, so the This allows it to be used in a range of pictured scenarios such as hanging off the foot of a bed.. The DuCase works with iPad versions 2, 3, 4, Air, and Mini. Pricing is a bit higher than other premium cases at $50 and a DuCase with genuine leather costs $65. Upon reaching a funding goal of $50,000, the DuCase will be available to backers in June 2014.
Traveling with little kids can be a challenge, and it’s even more difficult if they are potty training. The toilets that kids use when they’re learning to “go” are not travel-friendly. One, they’re bulky, and two…gross? So Leila designed a portable travel potty to help kids go, even when they family is away from home. Her design gave encompasses a multi-use, collapsible, portable potty that can be easily stowed in a diaper bag or purse. You do have to have use a plastic bag with the product, so you’ll need to keep those on hand as well. The clever design is as biodegradable as its intended contents and a set is available to backers for $25.
Here’s good news for the sweltering, or at least those who will be some six months after this month’s blizzards end. Procubed has developed a better way to install a portable air conditioning unit, but has a ways to go in its video’s production values. The stop-motion shows how to install it, but it’s herky-jerky and is difficult to see. The company isn’t actually providing a portable AC unit, it’s just designed a better way to install it to the window. For $20, you get a plan and a list of where you can get the materials, and for $50 you get the actual parts to assemble it. Delivery is expected April 2014.
Yoga has numerous health benefits, but many new practitioners find themselves with injuries because they don’t perform the positions correctly. Yoga by Numbers is speciality yoga mat comes with gridlines and numbered targets to help yogis practice safely. The company has filmed DVDs to help aspirants learn the mechanics of poses with their mat, making yoga more accessible to everyone. The dog-loving team that developed the mat, which seeks to raise $17,000, is producing in the U.S. using natural rubbers; these are good for the environment and sticky enough for new yogis to get a good grip. The best reward deal seems to be the $120 starter package, which includes the mat, two DVDs, and a mat-carrying strap. It’s due in April 2014.
The Premise. Aaah, vacation time! The car is packed, hotel booked and route preplanned in your favorite mobile. But one question looms as you seek to keep your smartphone’s maps available at a glance. Can’t anyone make a mounting device that’s at least a halfway decent and also provides easy viewing? Ananda Svarupa Das of Bunglejungle has had a very similar thought – only he likely believes that his solution is well beyond halfway decent.
The Product. The Neutron S offers quick attachment or removal and works with nearly any phone or tablet whether in its case or not. Machined from solid aerospace aluminum, bead-blasted and anodized, it complements even top Apple and Android devices. The mounting mechanism consists of shielded permanent neodymium magnets that won’t lose their hold and are hindered by neither burger grease covered fingers, the sweat of sultry summer days, nor frigid winter nights. The magnets offer easy mounting: a metal surface or the supplied 3MVHB tape, which is apparently similar to duct tape in effectiveness — only less bulky and no fun colors for adventurous types. Neutron S itself, however, comes in sleek matte black or attention-grabbing silver.
Its slim attachment disk is about the diameter and depth of a penny and has the really cool Bunglejungle palm tree logo etched on it. The attachment disk goes on the backside of a mobile device or case for easy flaunting and potential prompting from friends and passers-by of, “Hey, what’s that really cool silver disked palm tree thingy stuck on your mobile’s backside, dude?”
The Pitch. The video for the $10,000 campaign was designed with showing and not telling in mind. The upbeat music is cleverly coordinated with the click of various mobile devices attaching to their corresponding mounts. On the few occasions that written phrases clarify a point of importance, the print could be darker so that the words are easier to read. It’s notable that no magnetism passes through the Neutron S to mobile devices, making it safe for all mobile devices. Bunglejungle has had campaigns on Kickstarter before and Ananda Svarupa Das indicates that he and his colleges have learned a great deal from that. They seem to be well suited and organized to follow through with the project.
The Perks. There are eight tiers from which backers may choose. The $15 early bird offers backers a complete product; if it’s exhausted, though, the $20 level will still offer about a $10 discount from the expected retail price. Estimated delivery is April 2014 for most of the levels.
The Potential. Neutron S will be useful to anyone who has a recent metal iPhone and and wants to enjoy the convenience of hands-free availability. Of course, those with plastic phones — and there are many — will either have to stick to adhesive or find some metallic case or plate attracted to magnets. There are other magnetic mounts and holders on the market, but the Neutron S is considerably smaller, convenient and attractive.